At our Jan. 5 reorganization meeting, Eileen Lukens was sworn in as our new deputy mayor. Many of you know Eileen as a 49-year resident of our township, married to Rob, who has three grown children: Kelly, Robin and William.
Eileen previously served on the local school board and has been the only female serving on the township committee for the last 10 years. I’d like to welcome her into this new leadership role and congratulate her on the recent accomplishment.
Our printed versions of the 2026 township calendar will hit mailboxes sometime in the next couple of weeks. An online PDF version is currently available and has been posted to our official social media outlets and the official website at www.mantuatownship.com. This is the typical timeline every year. Please be patient as some of the logistics are out of our control relative to delayed content, printing and mail delivery.
If you don’t receive a calendar in the mail by the end of this month, please call the township clerk’s office at (856) 468-1500 to be placed on future mailing lists. We always have extra calendars that can be picked up at the clerk’s office in the administration building on Main Street.
For residents in need, the United Methodist Church of Mantua has a food pantry with canned foods and goods, shelf-stable foods, frozen meats and fish, eggs, personal hygiene items, household products, diapers and wipes. It’s open on Wednesday evenings and Thursday mornings. Please call to make an appointment at (856) 468-2711. Individual appointments can be made for privacy’s sake. An outdoor emergency pantry is also available next to the church and open 24/7.
Wolf Fitness in the Timberline Shopping Center is slated to open its doors for business on Saturday, Feb. 7. The grand opening is scheduled from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. Deputy Mayor Lukens and I recently stopped by the facility for a quick tour and met the owners, Ed and Crystal Romasko, and general manager Jill Hartman. The 20,000-foot gym is amazingly designed and housed with state-of-the-art workout equipment. The husband-and-wife ownership team will offer special discounts to law enforcement and nurses.
We have always held our U.S. military veterans in the highest level of esteem. In order to pay further tribute and to display our heartfelt appreciation to both veterans and active duty-members, the launching of a township Hometown Heroes Veterans Banner Program in 2026 will be a prioritized goal. It will eventually line areas of our community such as Main Street, the Veterans Plaza and Chestnut Branch Park with personalized banners honoring those residents who served our great country in the armed forces.
I have created an oversight committee that will be led by myself and Committeeman John Legge, who is our liaison to the veteran’s commission. The group is slated to begin the initial discussions for the implementation of this program by the end of January.
Our township’s new website is going live. This has been quite a daunting and tedious project, but we’re excited to see the hard work of our team finally come to fruition within the next month or so. Our main goal is to create a website that’s user friendly and interactive for residents. We are ecstatic about the unlimited potential of this more modernized site.
I’m exceptionally excited for the homepage that will feature, “Straight from the Mayor,” a dedicated space to better effectuate communication and transparency.
The township committee and I want to take this opportunity to congratulate the following winners of our 2025 Deck the House holiday decorating contest. First place went to the Furfari family, second place to the O’Neil family, third place to the Campi family, fourth place to the Voluntad family and fifth place to the Igielski family.
I was thoroughly impressed by the creativity and effort put into each display. Our contest is a wonderful way to bring neighbors together and radiate holiday spirit. Thank you to everyone who participated and helped to spread holiday cheer throughout our community. Your creativity and festive decorating truly made the season a little brighter.
If you’d like to nominate a Mantua business to be featured on the “Mayor’s Business Spotlight,” please email me at rzimmerman@mantuatownship.com.
